1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to board games, and more particularly, to a board game that realistically portrays and imitates typical player movements and situations that might occur during actual play of such game or activity, for both the education and entertainment of those playing the game.
2. Preliminary Discussion
Despite the increased popularity of electronic video and computer games, board games, which have been played for thousands of years in all parts of the world, remain a popular form of competitive amusement for both children and adults. Today""s board games may be classified into several broad categories. Games such as chess and checkers are of a type that generally divide the game board into a series of squares, and game pieces are moved from square to square as dictated by the rules of the game without necessarily having to follow a particular pathway or route. There are also a wide variety of xe2x80x9cpathway-typexe2x80x9d board games wherein the game pieces are moved sequentially along a standardized play path, usually consisting of a sequence of blocks or spaces having at least a beginning space and an ending space, as in monopoly. Finally, there are board games which attempt to simulate or mimic a particular sport or activity such as baseball and football. Countless variations and combinations of such types of board games are known in the prior art, many of which employ some form of chance-determining means, such as one or more die, a spinner having numerals thereon, or xe2x80x9cchancexe2x80x9d cards, for determining the movement of the game pieces.
In addition to amusing and entertaining the players, many board games also employ some type of teaching device, sequence, or materials in an attempt to add an educational aspect or means for increasing the knowledge or skill of the players concerning a particular subject or subjects to the game. Most of such games consist of familiar, expected and/or obvious structural configurations.
While previous games have fulfilled their respective, particular objectives and requirements, no known board game has effectively and realistically imitated the movement of players and strategy of play of a particular sport or activity while also incorporating an effective educational aspect designed to educate the participants about the rules, terminology, game situations, strategies, and history of the sport or activity being imitated in the same manner as the applicant""s invention.
3. Description of Related Art
U.S. Pat. No. 1,741,596 issued to C. W. Wright discloses a baseball board game in the likeness of a baseball field, wherein a revolving disc containing characters representing events in a baseball game is situated under the game board. Only certain characters are visible at any one time through small holes or apertures in the game board, and players move the game pieces by following the instructions of the visible characters after the disc is spun and comes to rest.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,886,319 issued to R. S. Henderson discloses a combination educational and simulated baseball game having a game board in the likeness of a baseball field, a series of cards containing statistics of player batting tendencies, and a pair of dice. The tendency cards are conformed to the tendencies of professional players, thereby allowing players to learn baseball strategy. Such cards do not, however, provide a means for actively testing or questioning participants concerning the rules, terminology, game situations, strategies, or history of baseball.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,000,897 issued to D. S. York discloses a plurality of cards containing lists of words, with such cards being divided into decks based on the perceived difficulty in spelling of such words. The cards can be incorporated into a game of chance by requiring a player to spell a word correctly before completing a move in the game, thereby converting the game into a game of both skill and chance. The subject matter of the York cards, however, has no relation to the game actually being played, and in playing the York game only one card may be drawn or used by a player per turn or move.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,016,939 issued to H. M. Thron discloses a game designed to teach the xe2x80x9csport xe2x80x9d hunting and hunting safety. The game utilizes several game pieces as well as two sets of cards, entitled Equipment Cards, which depict types of hunting equipment, and Situation Cards, which provide the result of a simulated shot at a target prey. Such cards are not used in the same manner as the inventor""s cards, and Thron is a pathway-type board game rather than a game that imitates typical movements of the participants during real play of the sport or activity being simulated.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,121,823 issued to T. A. McBride discloses a board game designed to teach subjects such as religion. Each block in the pathway of the McBride game corresponds to a particular subject matter, which subject matter in turn corresponds to a particular set or deck of cards. When a player lands on a particular block, he or she is asked a question from the corresponding deck. Only one question may be asked per turn, however, and players cannot choose the type or difficulty of the question asked as in the inventor""s game.
U.S. Pat. 4,378,941 issued to P. A. Derby discloses a board game designed to teach players to recognize particular species of birds and their habitats. The game is played by moving the game pieces along a pathway situated on the perimeter of the board, with each block representing a particular bird habitat. A player who lands on a habitat by chance must match the birds to such habitat.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,856,780 issued to S. E. Begley et al. discloses a basketball trivia game consisting primarily of a game board and cards containing a series of trivia questions arranged in order of increasing difficulty. The questions of Begley et al. are asked within the framework of a game situation simulating a real life game. However, the Begley et al. game board does not simulate a basketball court, and the difficulty of the question asked is determined by the chance means rather than at the option of the player as in the inventor""s game.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,123,653 issued to G. Murphy et al. discloses a board game having a simulation of a basketball court on its face, with the court divided into zones at varying distances from the basket. Murphy et al. discloses two modes of play wherein a player must answer questions about basketball teams and players. If a question is answered correctly, either points are awarded or the player is allowed to roll the dice again. Unlike the inventor""s game, however, the difficulty of the question to be asked is determined by chance, and there is no provision or option to answer an additional xe2x80x9cchallengexe2x80x9d question during the same players move.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,248,147 issued to D. N. S. Smith discloses a board game having different categories of question cards relating to the rules and techniques of tennis. The Smith game does not, however, have a provision for asking additional xe2x80x9cchallengexe2x80x9d type questions, which it is believed are used in a unique manner by the inventor.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,407,204 issued to A. G. Meyer, III discloses another baseball-type board game in which baseball trading cards are used as playing pieces. The fielding team selects pitcher cards, which indicate balls, strikes, or hits, until cards indicating a combination of 4 balls, 3 strikes, or a hit are drawn. When a hit card is drawn, the batter then draws an action card, which indicates the type of hit. The Meyer III game lacks the educational or teaching aspect the inventor""s game wherein questions concerning the rules, terminology, strategy, situations and history are asked with each turn at bat.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,513,848 issued to D. N. Keener discloses a board game simulating environmental and sportsmanship issues that might be encountered while participating in a fishing tournament. The game board consists of an illustration of a body of water with pathway-type blocks spaced along the bank or perimeter that identify an action to be taken based on a roll of a dice. The object of the game is to acquire xe2x80x9cBaitxe2x80x9d cards representing different fishing baits that are used to catch xe2x80x9cBitexe2x80x9d cards corresponding to a species of fish. The player with the most poundage of fish represented on the xe2x80x9cBitexe2x80x9d cards at the end of the game is declared the winner.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,516,290 issued to R. L. Quigley et al. discloses a board game designed to educate players about proper skateboarding methods and safety. The object of the Quigley et al. game is to traverse a path while collecting all of the necessary safety equipment involved in skateboarding. The Quigley et al. is an example of a game designed to educate players about a particular sport, albeit in a different manner than in the inventor""s game.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,884,914 issued to M. Lilien discloses a baseball related board game designed to more realistically portray a professional baseball game. Each player rolls a pair of dice simultaneously. When the offensive player rolls a higher number than the defensive player, xe2x80x9cactionxe2x80x9d cards are used to determine the course of play. If the offensive player wishes to advance an extra base, the dice are again rolled and the extra base is granted if the offensive player again rolls a higher number than the defensive player. Lilien does not, however, include any means for teaching the rules, terminology, strategy, situations, or history of the game of baseball.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,901,956 issued to T. L. Warmack discloses a board game which uses question cards preferably relating to the sport or game being simulated. Generally, the offensive player is asked a question by the defensive player. If the offensive player answers correctly, such player then spins a typical spinner to determine the next outcome or move. Movements apparently also follow the traditional rules of the game being simulated. The Warmack game does not, however, allow players to ask or answer more than one question per as in the inventor""s board game.
The board game xe2x80x9cRules of the Gamexe2x80x9d manufactured by Game Technologies, Inc. calls for players to move game pieces around a game board based on their answers to questions pertaining to hypothetical situations that might occur while playing baseball, football, basketball, or golf. Such game, however, is a pathway-type game, and the type of question asked is determined by the space which the player occupies.
Although almost every board game has its particular novel and attractive features, as evidenced by the above patents, the inventor does not believe that any known board games include the inventor""s unique combination of elements. In particular, the inventor""s use of xe2x80x9cchallengexe2x80x9d cards provides an unexpectedly pleasing result in that it creates a significantly more realistic and fast-paced game experience by adding an additional strategic element to the game and allowing the simulation of occurrences such as base-stealing, errors in fielding, and other elements not shown in previous sports or educational-type games. In addition, the inventor""s game includes a means for teaching the unique rules, terminology, strategy, situations, and history of different levels or variations of a particular sport or activity, such as Little League baseball, softball, Major League baseball, and collegiate and minor league baseball.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved board game that is entertaining and amusing to the players.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a board game that also includes a teaching or educational aspect.
It is a still further object of the invention to provide a board game in which the teaching or educational aspect is designed to teach the participants about the rules, terminology, strategy, situations, and history of the game or activity being simulated.
It is a still further object of the invention to provide a board game in which the game board realistically depicts or portrays the standard arena or environment in which the game or activity being simulated typically occurs.
It is a still further object of the invention to provide a board game in which the game pieces are moved in a manner simulative of typical movements of players or participants of the game or activity being simulated.
Still other objects and advantages of the invention will become clear upon review of the following detailed description in conjunction with the appended drawings.
The present invention provides a unique board game and method of playing that is both a game of chance and an educational game designed to be played by two or more players wherein as players or participants answer questions about the rules, terminology, strategies, situations, and history of a particular sport or activity, such sport or activity is realistically portrayed or simulated on the game board. A typical game includes a game board, die, a coin, scoring tablets, game pieces preferably in a shape depicting typical players, and playing cards. The playing cards are preferably divided into at least two sets or decks with one set consisting of regular questions and the second set consisting of xe2x80x9cchallengexe2x80x9d questions. Each card contains at least one question and the corresponding correct answer preferably related to the sport or activity being simulated.
The face of the game board contains a representation of a playing field or other environment typical of the sport or activity being simulated. In a preferred embodiment, the game board depicts a typical baseball field, including an infield, outfield, bases, pitchers mound, an upright outfield wall having advertising billboards on its face, and a scoreboard. However, other sports or activities may be just as easily simulated.
The playing cards are preferably divided based on the degree of difficulty of the questions, with the xe2x80x9cchallengexe2x80x9d questions generally considered more difficult than the regular questions. Both the regular question and xe2x80x9cchallengexe2x80x9d question cards preferably contain questions about the rules, terminology, strategy, situations, or history of the sport or activity being simulated. In the preferred embodiment, the cards may contain questions pertaining to Little League baseball, softball, minor league or collegiate baseball, and professional baseball rules, terminology, strategies, situations, history, and the like.
In the preferred embodiment, play begins with a coin flip to determine the home and visiting teams, with the visiting team batting first. The die is preferably six-sided and contains indicia representing either a xe2x80x9csingle,xe2x80x9d xe2x80x9cdouble,xe2x80x9d xe2x80x9ctriple,xe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9chome runxe2x80x9d on four of the faces and indicia representing an xe2x80x9coutxe2x80x9d on the other two faces. The outcome of a roll of the die indicates the preliminary outcome of an at-bat. If the die lands with one of the xe2x80x9chitxe2x80x9d designations facing up, the batting player must correctly answer a question from the regular question cards asked by a fielding or defensive team player before the designated xe2x80x9chitxe2x80x9d can be executed. In a sense, the roll of the dice indicates the success or lack of success of the batter in hitting the ball, and the question cards can be thought of as being simulative of the success of the fielder in fielding the ball.
If the batting player answers the regular question incorrectly, an out is recorded. If the batting player answers a regular question correctly, a player piece is moved to the designated base. Then, at the option of the batting player, he or she may ask a fielding team player a question from the set of xe2x80x9cchallengexe2x80x9d questions if he or she wishes to try to advance the runner(s) an extra base, i.e. stretching a single into a double, a double into a triple, or a triple into a home run. If the xe2x80x9cchallengexe2x80x9d question is answered correctly by the defensive team, the batting player piece or pieces remain on the base indicated by the die. However, if the defensive team fails to answer the challenge question correctly, the batting player will extend the designated hit by one extra base. Thus, a correct answer to a challenge question by the fielding team can be thought of as representing good defense or a good fielding play, while an incorrect answer to a challenge question by the fielding team can be thought of as simulating a fielding error, stolen base, or the like. The number of challenge questions that may be asked per at bat is preferably limited to two. In alternate playing strategies, the batting team may be asked both the regular and challenge questions by the fielding team, or the batting team may choose the type of question he or she wishes to answer, with the number of challenge questions that can be asked per team per at bat again limited to two. In yet another alternative playing strategy, if the batting team player rolls an xe2x80x9coutxe2x80x9d, he or she will then ask a fielding team player a question from the cards. If the question is answered correctly, the out is recorded, thereby representing errorless fielding the ball. However, if the question is answered incorrectly, the player is allowed to move to the designated base, thereby representing a fielding error. A typical game is played for seven innings.